The Face of Betrayal
by Jessica Capasso
Summary: Peter Pettigrew had his reasons to do everything he did, and they were all for the good of the wizarding world and his friends.
1. Chapter 1

The Face of Betrayal

Chapter 1: Resurrection

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters created by JK Rowling and am making no money off of this story.

The portkey dropped Harry and Cedric off in a dark graveyard. They looked around nervously. "Wands out you reckon?" The taller of the two asked his unwilling companion. Harry gave a short nod already pulling out his wand.

"Kill the spare," They heard a high hissing voice sound from nearby. They swung around to see a heavy balding man carrying what looked like a baby, just in time to see the red light strike Cedric in the chest and a second one coming towards Harry. Voldemort in his homunculus form snarled at the man. "I thought I told you to kill him."

"I'm s-sorry m-master. I thought we could have more fun with him later. A tortured and disfigured body sends a much better message." The man said fearful that his master would not accept the explanation.

"Very well. Just make sure you tie him up so that he cannot escape." Wormtail nodded and shot ropes at the boy before tying Harry Potter to the gravestone as instructed. Wormtail woke Harry up and looked into the boys big green eyes and flinched at the hatred he saw there. He was able to cover up this action with one of his characteristic trembles and turned his attention to the ritual that his master had ordered him to complete.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son," He chanted as he levitated a bone from the grave at Harry's feet. "Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master," He cut off his own hand into the cauldron. "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe," He made a shallow cut on Harry's arm catching the blood on the knife and dripped it into the cauldron as it began to smoke and a tall snakelike man rose from the cauldron.

"Robe me Wormtail," He said in the same high pitched hissing voice he had in his homunculus form. Despite the horror of the situation and the fear he was feeling, in the back of his mind Harry was amused at the voice the madman was apparently stuck with. After his followers were called Voldemort untied Harry and gave him back his wand attempting a mockery of a duel.

When the wands linked and the priori incantatem was in effect Wormtail smiled as all of the dark lords followers clustered together just outside the bubble. He slowly inched back away from the crowd waiting for the right moment. Just as Lily and James erupted from Voldemorts wand he choked back the tears and carried out his plan. He cast his signature spell, bombarda on the crowd of death eaters and watched in satisfaction as they were all blown to bits. That was enough to distract Voldemort who howled in rage and lost his concentration on the battle of wills he was fighting. That lapse in concentration was enough to see the effect ended and his spell backfire on him leaving a lifeless body on the ground.

Harry stood still in shock looking at the scene and noticed Wormtail smiling in satisfaction. "Why…?" He croaked in disbelief at the errant marauder.

"My job is done…finally. There will be time enough for explanations later cub. Take your friend and Voldemorts body and take the cup. It will take you back to Hogwarts. You have many people worried about you right now." The ratlike man smiled at the boy he sacrificed everything for. As Harry was reaching for the cup he called out, "And Harry…" when the boy looked up, "congratulations. Your parents would be as proud of you as I am." Harry grabbed the cup along with a still stunned and tied up Cedric and the body of the would be dark lord and disappeared with a look of complete confusion on his face.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts

Snape was standing with Dumbledore trying to figure out where Potter could have gone when he felt a burning in his arm. He pulled up the sleeve and gasped in horror at what he saw. When he saw the headmaster looking at him he said only two words. "He's back" In that moment it seemed like the headmaster aged a few decades.

"Is he calling?" The headmaster asked sorrowfully.

"No, not yet."

"Then Harry may still be alive. We have to redouble our efforts to find him. After a few more minutes of casting spells attempting to trace the portkey Snape felt a tingling in the same arm and looked down in shock. He pulled the headmaster out of the long incantation he was casting and pointed.

"He's gone. Completely. For good." The taciturn man said with disbelief and quite a bit of hope. He looked back up to his mentor to see the twinkle completely returned to the man's eye.

"Then Harry has done it. Fulfilled his destiny." The old man closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh of relief. "Now we just need to bring him home." He said just as the whoosh of a portkey deposited two young boys, on unconscious and tied up, and the body of a snakelike figure. As Snape dispelled the ropes and enervated the Diggory boy, Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and said trying to fight back the tears, "You've done it, my boy. You've saved us all. I knew you could do it."

Harry, surprised by the hug the old headmaster had him trapped in, had had one too many surprises for one day and passed out. Dumbledore, concerned, ran his wand over the boy and then chuckled, picked up the boy, and took him to the hospital wing. Snape came over at that point. "How did he do it? What happened?"

"I suspect that he will have many questions when he wakes up, as will we for him. For now he needs to rest."

"Is he alright?" The potions master asked surprising himself with the fact that he was concerned. He shrugged it off as gratitude that the boy had saved him from having to prostrate himself before a maniac once again.

Dumbledore again chuckled. "He has fainted. It seems the excitement got to be too much for the poor child." Snape couldn't help the snort that escaped.

They reached the hospital wing to find a frantic werewolf barely holding onto his equally frantic dog. Dumbledore laid Harry on the nearest bed and stepped back to let Madam Pomfrey examine him. She quickly healed the cut on his arm and the bruises and rubbed some healing salve onto his knee after fixing the dislocation. She told the other occupants that he would be fine and to let him wake up on his own.

Cedric Diggory walked into the infirmary to see Harry after extricating himself from the crowds on what used to be the quidditch pitch, including his hysterical parents, and found the boy still unconscious. "Professor Lupin. What are you doing here?" He asked spotting the werewolf sitting at the bedside of the boy-who-(it seemed) lived-again ignoring the snort of the dog at the title of the former professor.

"Mr. Diggory. I am relieved to see that you are well. What happened after you took the cup?" He asked avoiding the boy's question altogether.

"I think that is a question that we would all like an answer to." The headmaster said stepping out of the medi-witches office with her right behind him.

"I'm not really sure. We landed in this really creepy graveyard and I heard a voice say "Kill the spare" and the next thing I knew I woke up on the pitch." Cedric said in confusion. They all frowned as they realized that Cedric was unconscious the whole time and would offer no further information. It seemed they really would have to wait for Harry to wake up.

At that thought they heard a moan from the bed that Harry was occupying and they all turned their heads to him as the medi-witch rushed over and ran her wand over him once more to make sure that he was alright. Harry turned and squinted at the crowd of people by his bedside just as his glasses were pushed onto his nose. He was suddenly startled by a large black dog jumping on his bed and licking his face. "Eww Snuffles that's gross," He exclaimed pushing the dog back a bit only to then hug the dog laughing.

"So Harry, my boy, care to tell us what happened tonight?" The headmaster asked chuckling.

At that point the doors to the hospital wing opened once more and the Minister of Magic came in. "I would dearly like to know that too. I have a dead body down there that registers as he-who-must-not-be-named, but that isn't possible since he has been dead for 13 years."

Harry sighed and began his story. At the entrance of Wormtail into the story the dog growled, the werewolf started cursing under his breath and making death threats, and the minister gasped. "You mean he really is alive? That wasn't just a fabrication to get Sirius Black released?"

"If I may Minister…" Dumbledore pulled out his pensive from his pockets and asked Harry to think hard about the night last year in the shrieking shack. After extracting the memory the headmaster set it to play for the room.

The minister sighed. "Many things disturb me about that memory not least of which is that you had three unregistered illegal animagi running around this campus for however many years, but given the evidence…"He paused and pulled a parchment out of his pocket, wrote something down, and applied the ministerial stamp that he always carried around and held it out to the black dog sitting on Harry's bed. Unwilling to change back and doom himself he looked at Harry pleadingly who took the paper and read it aloud.

"This parchment hereby declares Sirius Black pardoned from all crimes proscribed to him including escape from Azkaban prison, but not including being an illegal animagus of which the sentence is 5 years in Azkaban already served." Harry read aloud not really believing his eyes. Padfoot barked happily and jumped off the bed transforming back into himself.

"We do still have to settle the matter of harboring a wanted fugitive by Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, and Remus Lupin." The minister said sternly. He enjoyed the look of fear on all the faces except of course Albus Dumbledore who only looked disappointed. They had him chasing down the wrong man for a year while they knew where he was and all it would have taken was that memory last year and it all could have been avoided. Granted, he wasn't too keen to listen, and if he were honest with himself he would realize that they only hid the man to save him from an unjust kiss from the dementors, but while Fudge had made great strides tonight he was still somewhat blind to his own failures. He was just enjoying their discomfort for a moment before he continued. "You will all be fined 100 galleons to be paid by the end of the week, and you Mr. Black have 48 hours to register your form at the ministry." He said with satisfaction and smirked as they all let out a sigh of relief. "But now back to the story. You left off where you were both stunned."

Harry continued on with his story, this time with his now human godfather sitting next to him on his bed for support. When he got to the point where Wormtail had destroyed all of the death eaters everyone listed to the rest of the story in awe. "Why would he do that? This makes no sense. Maybe he felt guilty. But he had obviously been planning it. How did he know?" Were just some of the exclamations made throughout the room.

After some more discussion the minister cleared his throat. Now that we have that out of the way, I believe there is a prize to be awarded. He took out two sacks of gold and handed one each to Harry and Cedric who all had forgotten was in the room, but they likely would not have removed him anyway feeling that as someone who was there and almost sacrificed as a result he had the right to know what happened. "There are 500 galleons each. Since you both won, the prize money will be split between the both of you." Both boys nodded and Harry counted out 300 of the galleons and handed them back to the minister to pay the fines for himself, the headmaster, and his other unofficial godfather.

The other two men protested Harry paying their fines but Harry was resolute. "I was the one who rescued him from the tower. I was the one who, inadvertently or not, allowed Wormtail the chance to escape so his innocence couldn't be proven, and last but not least he is my godfather. You headmaster wanted him protected because he was an innocent man, you Remus wanted him protected as your last friend and a link to your past, but I need him in my life for so many reasons. He is all I have. That night he asked me to come live with him I actually had hope for a family for the first time in my life. He is far more to me than any of you and I thank you profusely for helping to protect him. This is my way to show my thanks. Please accept it." Harry finished in a small voice looking down at the bed. There wasn't a dry eye in the room and all resistance stopped. Even the minister cleared his throat before accepting the galleons, suddenly sorry that he requested them at all.

Next time: Wormtail's story


	2. Chapter 2

The Face of Betrayal

Chapter 2: Wormtail's Story

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

It was decided that Harry would stay in the infirmary for the last few days of term so that he could avoid all the crowds and well-wishers. For the first time Harry Potter was actually a willing patient of the stern hospital matron. Since he was not, of course, really injured he was allowed visitors as he wished which he restricted to Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Cedric among the students. The adults could, of course, come and go as they pleased. His second day in the infirmary he was surprised to be visited by the one professor who always hated him. Professor Snape walked stiffly into the infirmary and looked around for Potter. He found him in the window seat looking over the grounds. "May I speak with you Mr. Potter?" The stern man asked quite uncomfortably, but without malice in his voice.

Harry turned to him in surprise and nodded. "While you will get no apology from me since I did what needed to be done, I do want to explain my treatment of you over the years. We knew that Voldemort was not completely gone and while the majority of my spying duties ended when you banished him, I still had to keep up appearances in case I had to take up spying again. No one could see anything except for hatred between us."

"Why couldn't you have just told me that. Gave me a detention or something and explained. I would have understood." Harry said with some bitterness, but careful not to be too insolent lest the potions master return to his previous manner.

"There was no guarantee at 11 years old that you could be discreet enough nor be a good enough actor for all the hate and distrust you have shown me over the years. That had to be genuine. While it is true that I have no measure of affection for you given your parentage, house, and disregard for the rules, now that the charade has ended, I am able to treat you and all other students equally. I look forward to the cessation of hostilities." He said curtly and turned to walk out robes billowing behind him.

Harry chuckled as the door closed. "I wish I knew how he does that," He muttered.

"Don't we all, cub, don't we all." Remus said wistfully from the doorway. At that point an owl flew through the window and held his leg out with a letter to Harry.

_My Dearest Harry,_

_I'm sure you are confused by the events of yesterday and would like to meet you and those of your choice to explain my actions over the years. I would like to request that Padfoot and Moony be there as well though of course. They deserve an explanation as much as you do. I know I am in no position to make demands and will understand if you will always hate me, but know that I love you cub. Always have and always will. Your owl will be able to find me to arrange a time and place to meet. I would prefer to meet in the shrieking shack, but will meet anywhere you wish. _

_Love always, Wormtail_

Remus walked over and sat next to Harry on the window seat after he had finished reading the letter aloud and and placed a hand on his knee. "How are you feeling?"

"Overwhealmed"

"That's completely understandable. It's a lot to take in and with too many unanswered questions. We need to know what Wormtail was thinking. Why he did what he did. He has always responded well to you. I would like the chance to hear his explanation." When Harry looked up nervously Remus continued. "I understand if it is difficult for you, but I think you deserve those answers as much as the rest of us. We all need the closure so that we can truly put this experience behind us. Just think about it cub, okay?"

Harry nodded and thought for a minute. On one hand Wormtail was responsible for the death of his parents, his horrible childhood with the Dursleys, Sirius' imprisonment for something he didn't do, Remus' isolation and depression for so long, and likely countless other things; but on the other hand, his betrayal of Harry's parents resulted in the banishment of Voldemort and likely saved countless lives, his betrayal of Voldemort in the graveyard surely saved Harry's life and again likely countless others. If that was his plan all along, why not just say so then. Harry could have grown up with Sirius and been happy. None of this made sense. Remus was right. He wanted answers and he was going to get Wormtail here and no one was leaving until he got his answers. "I want everyone's word that he will not be harmed until we all have all the answers we need. And if we can get veritaserum for it then great." Harry agreed.

"We will probably need to bring the minister into the plot to get access to the veritaserum. It is a highly controlled substance." Remus told him softly.

Harry sighed. "Only if he will agree to leave him unharmed until I have all my answers."

"I'll get Albus on it. He will be able to talk him into it or obliviate him so that he doesn't know what we are going to do." Remus said with some hope in his eyes. Harry nodded and agreed to send the letter once everything was set up. A few hours later Remus came back and gave him the go-ahead.

_Wormtail,_

_You destroyed my life, but you saved it yesterday so I will give you a chance to tell your side of the story. You will not be harmed until you have said your piece and answered all of our questions. Shrieking Shack 9pm tonight. If you are not there I will hunt you down and kill you myself. _

_Harry_

Later that night it was quite the crowd that sat in the shrieking shack waiting for their guest. In addition to Harry, Sirius, and Remus, there was also the headmaster, the minister, an auror guard for the minister who happened to be an up and coming auror named Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Professor Mcgonnagal. At 9 o clock on the dot there was movement in the corner and a rat turned into the man they were all waiting for. The auror immediately put up wards to keep anyone from changing into an animagus form and keep everyone in the room so there was no chance for Pettigrew to get away and then took his wand. With a longing look at his old friends and the child he risked everything for he took a seat and opened his mouth to speak only to be stopped by Harry. It was agreed beforehand that Harry would run the show as long as everyone else got the chance to ask their questions after. "First things first wormtail," he spat the name, "we want to make sure we get the truth so you are going to have to have a little drink for us before you say anything."

He held out his hand and swallowed the vial of veritaserum willingly with a small smile at Harry and began speaking again and this time no one stopped him. "It all started really with my 17th birthday. When I came of age and received my gifts I became a seer. A real one, not like that fraud Trelawny. I could see what would happen in the future and could force a trance to see different outcomes if different decisions are made. This was kept absolute secret and nearly drove me insane. That's why I was missing so much 7th year. It took time to learn to come to terms with the knowledge. I didn't know why I of all people would end up with such a gift, though in many ways it is more of a curse." The others looked at him in a manner that suggested that he get on with the story so he did. "So at James and Lily's wedding I got a vision that Voldemort was going to slaughter them both, along with their son, and Padfoot who was visiting at the time. He would then become unstoppable. That's why I left early into the reception. I had to see how to avoid it. What I could do. I spent weeks going over different outcomes, different ways it could be handled. I tried all different secret keepers. The secret keeper was always killed to break the protection. Even you Headmaster, though he didn't dare cross wands with you, he just smuggled a poison into Hogwarts with one of his death eater children. They hid at Hogwarts, until a curious Harry snuck away and went into the village at 6 years old and was killed along with those who went to save him including all of us. He was gaining power so fast if it had been left for much longer than it eventually was there would have been no way to stop him."

Sirius couldn't hold it in any longer. "So you betrayed them yourself to save him the trouble?" he roared.

"Gods no Padfoot. Didn't you hear what I said? Harry died in all of those situations as well. I couldn't let that happen. Finally I found a way to save something at least. There was no possible decision that would save Lily and James but I could save Harry and the two of you. I planted a book for Lily to find about ancient sacrificial magic knowing that she would do everything possible to save Harry and she did. She and James had to die in order for Harry to remove Voldemort from his body and stop his reign of terror, even temporarily."

Remus had been deep in thought. "The sacrificial magic doesn't work that way. It would have protected Harry, but it wouldn't have rebounded on Voldemort."

"You've always been the smart one Moony. You're right. That was Harry's accidental magic that did that. The protection kept the curse from Harry and redirected it, but Harry's fear of the strange man with the red eyes made his accidental magic redirect it back to him and caused a backlash. That's why it didn't do the job completely. You can't kill yourself with your own magic. The strength Harry's magic added to it allowed it to destroy his body, but his spirit was still tethered. The explosion was caused by the paradox of his own magic destroying his body. That's why we couldn't wait until he was any older. I tried that scenario too. Tried to give him as many years as I could with his parents, but as he got older his accidental magic settled and he understood the situation much better. He still would have been afraid, but not enough to get the reaction. The curse would have been re-directed due to Lily's magic, but it wouldn't have gone after Voldemort and since he couldn't kill the boy he would have taken him and raised him to be a little clone of himself. The fear of the unknown is a much greater fear than any other, especially as a child without his parent's beside him to face it. That's what gave him the strength."

"Even if that was the only way. If I had no choice but to lose my parents, you could have let Sirius raise me. You didn't have to get him sent to Azkaban. You didn't have to leave me to be abused by my so-called family." Harry cried both in pain for what was said and what happened to him in his life.

"Oh Harry, you have to believe me. I tried to find another way. Truly I did. The blood protection from your Aunt based on your mother's sacrificial magic was the only way to protect you. The other death eaters would have hunted you down and killed you before you could even protect yourself. I tried letting Padfoot raise you and he would have done a wonderful job, with or without Moony, but no matter how I tried to play it, you were always killed before you got to Hogwarts. Even raising you at Hogwarts didn't work. You know how many death eaters that claimed imperious have access to Hogwarts, death eater children who blamed you for the loss of their parents, and a small child was too good a target to pass up. It is impossible to watch you all the time and way too easy to stun any protectors from behind, or drug them to sleep, or any of a hundred other ways they could get their hands on you." There were many gasps from the group as this information sank in.

Peter looked fondly at his marauder brothers. "You guys were right about one thing. I did hide with a wizarding family so that I could get news. I hid with a light family that was allied with the headmaster so that I would know if Harry ever went missing, or was removed from his family, and so that when he went to Hogwarts I could watch over him and make sure he stayed safe. There were a few times I had to step in to protect him in his first three years. I frequently snuck away from Ron and hitched a ride with him when the two split up." He smiled remembering some of the times he was able to really make a difference in his cubs life.

Harry suddenly gasped with remembrance. "You bit Goyle!" He said incredulously and amused.

For the first time in 15 years Peter laughed. A real belly laugh. "That I did. I knew who he was. Of course you didn't really need me to step in there, but it was just too fun to resist. I was a marauder for a reason." The other two marauders despite themselves couldn't help but laugh too. After a good healing laugh Peter continued on with his story. "You don't know how badly the guilt destroyed me knowing what I was doing. Even if it was the only way. I submitted to the twins' pranks and testing for years knowing that it was the least I deserved. They are very brilliant but not too considerate to the feelings of their pets." Peter cringed remembering some of the less savory experiments he unwillingly took part in. Everyone who knew the twins could only imagine some of the torment that Peter had endured.

"By the end of Harry's second year I could tell that he needed some hope. He was crushing under the weight of the burden he was bearing. When the photographers came I let myself be photographed on Ron's shoulder. I have to say though that I wasn't expecting you to see it and break out of Azkaban though Sirius. I just expected Moony to see it and go rushing in to save Harry from me so that he could have an adult in his life that he could trust. Someone to tell him of his parents and give him hope that things could get better. Moony was always the one who gave me hope and strength so I hoped he could give Harry the same. But then Padfoot escaped. I spent some time seeing how much of a wrench that would throw into things. He couldn't be allowed to take custody of Harry, but I could never allow him to be kissed. It was bad enough having to sacrifice James and Lily, sacrificing another of my brothers would have completely destroyed me. I had to make sure that someone knew the truth, preferably the headmaster so that Sirius would be protected, but not the minister so that he couldn't be allowed to take Harry. Didn't you ever wonder why I was stupid enough to stick around while you were at Hogwarts Sirius? I needed you to catch me and expose me. That evil cat put a crimp in my plans though and set me back months. We were lucky things worked out as well as they did."

"You did disappear for a while that year. Where were you?" Harry asked.

"That damn cat nearly tore off one of my legs. I barely escaped. I would never have been able to heal in that dorm. If nothing else the fact that I couldn't run away would have seen me eaten. I hitched a ride in Ron's bag on the way to hogsmeade that day and found an abandoned house to transform back and do some basic healing spells."

"But you're terrible at healing spells!" Sirius interrupted.

"Of course. Why do you think it took me months to get back? I was worried that something would happen to Harry while I was away, but I took heart in the fact that Moony was there to protect him and I knew you were nearby Pads and would keep an eye out as much as you could. You couldn't be there at all times like I could in my rat form though, but there was nothing for it. So I made it back, made sure that enough people saw me that the headmaster would have to listen and escaped. I would have liked to stay and make sure that Harry was safe on the full moon, but he had Snape and Sirius there to get him and his friends safely back in side, but I still watched from the shadows to make sure. I nearly had a heart attack when the dementors almost got all of them. I was never any good at the patronus charm even before all this, but dredging up a happy enough memory at that point was nearly impossible. I tried. Over and over I tried, but it wouldn't come. When you made it back safe I wept with relief." Even telling the story his eyes misted over as did the rest of the room.

After that I decided that it was time to finish things for good. I found Voldemort's spirit, but I knew I had to have Harry to kill him. When that fraud made the prophecy and it was heard at least in part by both sides it became unavoidable. Not to mention the whole brother wand thing. I couldn't take out Voldemort, but I could protect Harry's back. The problem was he was nowhere near strong enough to destroy Voldemort and wouldn't likely be anytime soon, but with or without me Voldemort would have made it back. I found him and suggested a ritual that would make him weaker and that would be easy to sabotage to exacerbate that weakness. The problem was getting Harry there to finish it. Finally we did. I wasn't expecting the other boy, but I couldn't kill him. Even with everything I have had to do to get to that point I had never directly taken a life or even cast an unforgivable and really didn't want to have to stoop to that at the very end. During the ritual I made sure to use myself for the flesh of the servant. I was never truly his servant so it made it weaker. Barty wanted to use his own flesh for it, but I convinced Voldemort that he couldn't be there at that point and needed to stay at Hogwarts until it was done. I hated having to hurt Harry, but I made the cut as shallow as I could to get the needed blood. I was the one to convince Voldemort that he needed to duel Harry to demonstrate his superiority knowing that the priori incantatem would take effect, but I had also seen that without Voldemort being distracted Harry would just barely escape with his life and Voldemort would be back on his reign of terror. When the dome surrounded them the death eaters all clustered at the edge and I backed away and waited for the right moment. As soon as I saw James and Lily come out of his wand it was time. I cast Bombarda into the group of death eaters. They were all killed and Voldemort was well and truly distracted so that his curse would rebound on him again. Since the body he created was made with portions of myself, Harry, and his own father, his magic didn't recognize him as himself and we were able to avoid the fluke that allowed him to survive the first time."

The entire room was silent and still for at least ten minutes after the final words were spoken. All were amazed at the suffering and torment that this man subjected himself to, including the hatred of his brothers and the child that he loved as much as if he were his own, and all to save as many of them as he could and protect the world from Voldemort. Peter hadn't moved from his chair and had his head hung waiting for the verdict of the only people he ever loved; his family.

See the poll on my profile to vote on what to do with Peter. I have a good idea what I'm going to do, but if the majority would like to see it go another way then I will.


	3. Chapter 3

The Face of Betrayal

Chapter 3: Redemption

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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Last time:

_The entire room was silent and still for at least ten minutes after the final words were spoken. All were amazed at the suffering and torment that this man subjected himself to, including the hatred of his brothers and the child that he loved as much as if he were his own, and all to save as many of them as he could and protect the world from Voldemort. Peter hadn't moved from his chair and had his head hung waiting for the verdict of the only people he ever loved; his family._

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Remus stood and walked over to Peter, grabbed his hand, pulled him to his feet and wrapped him in a hug. At that point, the rat animagus couldn't hold it in any longer and began to cry in relief that at least one of his brothers forgave him. The minister interrupted after a moment. "As nice as this all is, we do have the matter of the 12 dead muggles during the confrontation of Sirius Black to settle."

Peter sighed and stepped back from Remus and they both returned to their seats. "I was always a master of illusion. I was never a particularly powerful wizard, but my gifts lied in illusion."

Sirius chuckled for a moment before he realized what he was doing, but added to the conversation, "That's right. That's how we never got into trouble running around outside on the full moons. Pete always put illusions of all of us sound asleep in our beds. It saved Remus' secret too. He can't very well be a werewolf if he's asleep in his bed on full moon nights."

Peter nodded to Sirius. "So I planted an illusion of the people around me. There were plenty of actual witnesses of course, and some of them did get hurt a bit from the debris, but no actual people were killed. That's why you found no remains other than my finger. All of the witnesses would swear that there were other people around, but none of them would be hurt."

"Why put an illusion of other people anyway?" Harry asked.

"Because it had to be bad enough for Sirius to go away without a trial. If they had given him a trial he would have gotten off and gotten custody of you and then you all would have ended up dead." Peter explained.

Sirius had a look of agony on his face. "Why didn't you just explain the situation. Tell me I had to leave Harry with the Dursleys and what would happen if I didn't."

"You were always a hothead Sirius. You would never have believed that you couldn't protect him. You would have at least insisted on being able to visit him, which would have led the death eaters to follow you and you would lead them straight to him. They couldn't have touched him in the wards, but what about grocery shopping or going to the park or any of a hundred other places a child could go. Not to mention, you would never have stood by while he was abused by his so-called family. I truly regretted having to send you to Azkaban, and I did everything I could think of to find another way. I really did, but it was the only way that could work. I'm sorry for everything you all had to go through, but 13 years of heartache is worth it for a lifetime of peace and happiness I think."

The minister chose that moment to enter the conversation again. "So the only crimes we have against you are leading James and Lily to their deaths, which given the circumstances will be pardoned for the greater good, exposing magic to muggles, and being an unregistered animagus…" Everyone held the breath waiting for the verdict. "Given the circumstances I don't thin a trial will be in anyone's best interest. I understand your wanting to keep your seer abilities secret, and a trial would expose them. Therefore your sentence for these crimes will be 10 years of being a test subject for spells and potions, sentence already served at the hands of the Weasley twins. Any arguments?"

No one spoke, but Sirius threw back his chair and stormed from the room without a word. Remus started to go after him, but Peter stopped him. "Wait Remus. All that my actions put all of you through he had it the worst. He has every right to be angry and feel like there has been a grave injustice. Don't go after him with the intention of making him forgive me. Don't make him feel like he has to choose. If he is to forgive me it needs to be in his own time of his own free will. He can't handle it if you abandon him now too. The same goes for the rest of you as well, but especially you Remus and Harry."

"Very well said Mr. Pettigrew," Dumbledore made his first sally into the conversation. "I think we can all understand Mr. Black's feelings quite well, but I feel confident that given time he will forgive you and you will regain the friendship you lost." He looked around at the others, "Unless anyone has any other business I think we should leave Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Potter to catch up while Remus goes to commiserate with his errant friend."

The others all nodded, but before leaving McGonnagal turned to Pettigrew. "I'm glad we were all wrong about you. Many times over this last year I wondered how you were sorted into Gryffindor, but now that I know the whole story, I think you were the bravest of us all. Thank you."

Peter nodded nervously to her as the rest of the group filed out and looked to Harry who had yet to say anything beyond his questions. "Harry…" He began before the boys hand held out stopped him.

"I understand the sacrifices everyone has needed to make to stop Voldemort. I understand the sacrifices you made for me. But every time I think about it, I remember all the abuse I took from the Dursleys. I remember that my parents are dead. I understand why you did it, and I will come to forgive you in time, but I need time to wrap my head around everything. I can't just pretend that nothing happened. Not yet."

Peter hung his head. "I understand Harry. That is very mature of you. I will wait for you to contact me, just never forget that I love you cub, and will do whatever is necessary to make it up to you; all of you."

Harry nodded and turned to walk away. Before he left he thought of something. "Do you have someplace to go?" He asked curiously.

Peter nodded with a slight smile. He may not be forgiven, but at least the boy cared enough to make sure he would be alright. "I can go to my mother's house. It was never sold and is technically still in my name. Thank you for being concerned."

At that Harry left the man alone and went for a walk around the lake to clear his head. What was he going to tell everyone? The fact that Peter was a seer couldn't get out, but how could he explain what happened without it. This would take some thought.

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Meanwhile with Sirius and Remus:

Remus caught up with Sirius who had apparated to Godric's Hollow and found him on his knees in front of the wreckage with tears streaming down his face. He went up behind his old friend and wrapped his arms around the devastated man. "It's just not fair Moony. He caused so much pain and he got to spend 12 years as a pet rat, while I never did anything wrong, except for love my friends and godson too much and I had to spend 12 years with the dementors of Azkaban. How is this justice?" He howled.

"You're absolutely right Sirius. It's not fair. Nothing about this war has been fair. Nothing about any of our lives has been fair." Remus bit back the rest of what he wanted to say. It needed to be said, but Peter had been right. Now was not the time.

"This is where it all began. This is where it all started to go wrong; where our lives were ruined."

"No Sirius. This is where it began for us, but it actually began long before this. When Voldemort began his crusade; maybe even when that muggle orphanage turned him cold and cruel; that's where it really began. Our lives aren't ruined. We had a very difficult time, yes, but we still have the rest of our lives ahead of us. At least a hundred more years. If you look at it from that perspective, then this time has just been a blip on the radar," Sirius snorted at the muggle expression. "That doesn't mean that it is any less real or any less painful, but we will get past it and we will have the rest of our lives to make up for it. Don't let pain and bitterness consume you."

"How can I get past it Moony? How can I forget?" He asked in a tortured voice.

"You don't forget. You can't forget. You learn to understand. The first step is to get up off the ground and go file for custody of your godson before he has to go back to that cow. Everything else will come in time."

Sirius nodded, stood, and wiped his face. "So you're not angry that I can't forgive him?"

Remus shook his head and repeated some of the same words that Peter used. "You have every right to your feelings, and what was done to you was worse than what the rest of us had to go through. It will take time to heal before you can hope to forgive."

"Thanks Moony," Sirius said with a smile. "Now what say we go get my godson from the clutches of those animals?"

Remus laughed and apparated with Sirius to the ministry where the paperwork was approved, but Sirius was ordered to be looked after by St. Mungo's to make sure there were no lasting effects from the dementors and his time on the run. Sirius was worried that they would keep him and Harry would have to go back to the Dursleys. When he voiced his concern they assured him that he now had custody and could choose where Harry would go and who with while he was indisposed. Sirius immediately turned to Remus and asked him to look after Harry if he wasn't home from St. Mungo's when school got out. Remus looked at the case worker. "Is that allowed?" He asked.

She gave him a sly smile. "The law, however stupid it may be, says that a werewolf cannot have custody of a minor, but who a guardian chooses to babysit is his own business." Sirius and Remus shared a chuckle at her logic, thanked her and left to Hogwarts to give Harry the good news.

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Back at Hogwarts:

Sirius and Remus arrived just as Harry was coming back from his walk around the lake. "Good news cub. You're coming home with us when school lets out." Sirius said bounding energetically up to Harry.

Harry laughed at his exuberance. "You mean I don't have to go back to the Dursleys? Ever?"

"Nope. You're all mine now. Assuming you still want to be of course."

"Are you kidding? This is a dream come true. Of course I want to be!"

"There's only one catch." Harry looked at him anxiously waiting for him to explain. "I have to go to St. Mungo's first to make sure I'm ok after the dementors, but if they keep me for longer than school is in you will be staying with Remus until I get out."

"That's ok. You do need to take care of yourself, and I would love to stay with Remus." Harry then turned to Remus. "I can go visit the Weasleys this summer right?"

"Of course cub," Remus ruffled his hair affectionately earning him a glare from the teen. Sirius agreed that visiting the Weasleys is a must do this summer.

"Where are we gonna be staying?" Harry asked.

Sirius smacked himself in the head. "I completely forgot about that. We definitely don't want to stay at the Black family home." Sirius thought for a few minutes. "We have a couple choices. There is the Black vacation home in the south of France, but that would make visits a little difficult. International floo travel is a headache, or we could stay at Potter Manor in Whales. I'm sure between the Blacks and the Potters we have more properties but those are the only ones I know off the top of my head other than Godric's Hollow which was destroyed."

Sirius looked to the other two for the decision. Remus is the one who spoke up. "Why don't we stay at Potter Manor for now if you are in St. Mungo's. It would be better for you to be with us at the Black house. Then when you get out, we can take a little vacation to the south of France. We can make a permanent decision later on."

"You guys are talking like Sirius is going to be there for a while." Harry said slightly despondent.

Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You have to understand that the dementors messed me up big time. It will probably take me a little time to get over things. Before, getting help wasn't an option, but now that I can, and have you to take care of it's something I need to do."

"But you seem ok"

"I do right now. There is a lot going on to keep me occupied, but when it's quiet and I don't have anything to keep me busy, I tend to have pretty violent flashbacks, and I have bad nightmares. I won't go into details, but it might take a few weeks to get me sorted out, not to mention taking care of my physical state. Don't worry though cub. I'll be ok and back with you before you know it." He said wrapping his godson in a big hug. Harry nodded into Sirius' chest.

"I'll be at King's Cross when you get off the train, but for now we need to go. It's after curfew and you should be in bed." Remus said.

When Sirius got to St. Mungo's he was admitted to the dangerous creatures ward to treat his exposure to dementors. They estimated that he would be there for 3-4 weeks. He made sure to write Harry to let him know.

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After Remus left Sirius at St. Mungo's he headed to Peter's mothers old house, guessing that that was where Peter would be. Peter was right that Sirius needed him, but so did he. Remus couldn't imagine everything that Peter was feeling at that moment.

Remus knocked on the door of the old cottage, surprised that it was still standing. It had definitely seen better days. When Peter opened the door it fell off the hinges. He sighed and looked at Remus. "Would you mind?" He asked gesturing to the door. Remus used repairo to fix the door. "Thanks Moony. I've pretty much magically exhausted myself fixing the necessities and cleaning the layers of dust and grime. I thought this place was bad before, but after all this time it wasn't even livable when I got here.

"It's no problem. You should just come stay with me for a couple weeks until school lets out at Hogwarts. After that I'll be moving into Potter Manor with Harry until Sirius gets out of St. Mungo's, but neither of us should really be alone right now."

"You don't have to do that Remus. I'm okay here."

"I know I don't have to Wormtail you goof. I need some company after everything that's happened and I'm sure you do too. We have a lot of catching up to do, so grab whatever you want to take and let's go." Remus said good-naturedly.

After getting settled in at Remus' cabin the two spent the remaining evening chatting, mostly about Harry. Peter told Remus what Harry had said to him. Remus nodded like he wasn't surprised. "Harry, for all that he handles dangerous situations like an adult, is still just a teenager. You hit him with a lot of information and he needs time to process. I'm sure he will come around, probably sooner than you think." Peter took heart from that. If there is one thing Moony is good at its reading people.

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	4. Chapter 4

The Face of Betrayal

Chapter 4: Learning to Forgive

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Harry arrived back in the hospital wing to a frustrated Madam Pomfrey. She had been waiting for his return for quite a while apparently and it was very late. She got him into bed and gave him a sleeping potion. That was the only way he was going to get any sleep tonight with everything he had on his mind. When he woke the next morning though the thought returned full bore.

Ron and Hermione arrived to see him shortly after breakfast. Harry decided that there would be no better time to tell them what happened. After swearing them to secrecy on certain parts of the story he began to explain everything that Peter had told them the night before.

"So Pettigrew is a good guy. Apparently he's a seer and did everything he did to make sure that Sirius, Remus, and I survived and Voldemort was destroyed for good."

Ron, predictably, exploded, "What!?"

Hermione was somewhat quieter, but still had the same sentiment, so Harry told them the whole story.

Hermione was the first to be able to form words as Ron was still spluttering. "Oh Harry. I don't know what to say. To think that he loved you all so much…," She then realized that perhaps these revelations had a deeper effect on Harry given everything that he and his godfather had gone through. "How are you holding up Harry?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to think. On one hand everything he did was so selfless and all to save us, but there was still so much suffering because of what he did. How do I reconcile that?"

Hermione decided that she could understand his point of view, but needed to help him with this. Given the situation, the only proper outcome would be the reunion of the remaining marauders and Harry. "I understand Harry. Really I do. You have to consider though how much worse things could have been."

Harry interrupted her and let slip the one thing that he never told anyone. His secret longing. "I could have been with my parents!"

Hermione gasped. She never realized how close her friend had been to the edge; to wanting to die. She put that in the back of her mind and soldiered on. The only way to save this was to appeal to his love for his friends. "And what about the rest of us? Voldemort would never have been defeated in 1981. He was winning the war then if you remember. The Weasleys would all be dead, tortured beforehand most likely. Muggleborns would have been slaughtered, including me. Just take a moment and think about what the world would be like. You still have the rest of your life ahead of you thanks to him. You have your godfather and Professor Lupin. You get to go live with them. Sure your life has pretty much sucked up until this point, but imagine how great it can be now."

Ron finally found his way into the conversation. "But that rat still as good as killed Harry's parents!" He was silenced by a glare from Hermione.

"Ron is right Hermione. I am glad I have a better life now, but how can I forget all the pain he caused. Whatever his reasons, it's still his fault my parents are dead, that Sirius spent 12 years in Azkaban, that I grew up being abused by the Dursleys. It's still his fault." Harry said looking out the window as the tears streamed down his face.

"You're right Harry. But you're looking at it backwards. It his fault you're still alive. It's his fault Sirius and Remus are alive. It's his fault the entire wizarding world is saved. It's his fault Voldemort is dead. Imagine if you were separated from Ron and I and you had to live your life thinking we hated you. That Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hated you. That we would all gladly kill you if given a chance. That is what he has lived with all these years. He deserves a happy ending too. Just think about it." She patted his leg and pulled a still angry Ron from the room to give Harry some time alone. They had to get to class. Just because the Champions didn't have end of year tests didn't mean that the rest of them could slack off. They only had a week left until the tests after all.

Meanwhile:

Sirius was just waking up after his first night in St. Mungo's, thankfully free from nightmares due to a very generous helping of Dreamless Sleep. The first week, according to the healers was going to be primarily Chocolate therapy with mind healers being brought in often. He would be on a stringent dose of nutrient potion to resolve the malnutrition issues. He was put on a very mild truth potion so that he would not try to hide his mental state to the detriment of his healing. It was then that they realized just how much damage had been done to his mind. He may end up being here longer than they thought. It turned out that the dementors basically destroyed all of his happy memories. While Sirius was right about the fact that the fact that he was innocent saved him from insanity, he didn't have many happy memories left and the ones that were left were tainted with bitterness.

When Remus visited that evening and was given the prognosis, he wasn't surprised that he had difficulty forgiving Peter.

"How did I not see how bad it was?" Remus mused mostly to himself. "What can we do for him?" he asked the healers.

"It's not surprising that you didn't see it Mr. Lupin. Mr. Black is a very good actor. He had us fooled as well until we gave him the first dose of the mild truth potion. The best way to help him is to restore his memories of the happy times. We think they are still there, but he subconsciously dimmed them or even blocked them as a protection against the dementors."

"Somehow I don't think reminiscing will help much," Remus said bitterly.

"Not by itself, no. But we think if we use a pensive to show him the memories during the reminiscing it would be enough to remind him. This will take time, and it will be a long road, but he will recover. One thing you will have to remember when dealing with him is that he was only 20 years old when he was put into that place. We do a lot of growing up between twenty and thirty three. While the rest of us have done that growing up, he wasn't able to do so. You have to remember not to treat him as if he is being immature. It will only frustrate him."

Remus nodded his head in his hands. That explained a lot, but this was so overwhelming, but Remus was sure that after Sirius was reminded how much the marauders loved each other that he would find forgiveness for Peter. "Do you have any suggestions as to what type of memories we should start with?"

"Well we got most of the story of what happened from Mr. Black today, so I would recommend waiting a while before showing memories that feature Mr. Pettigrew. We want to start with memories that are free from those conflicting emotions."

"Sirius didn't have a happy home life and the four of us were inseparable since our first day of Hogwarts. That is the only place he has any happy memories and I was there for most of them. This won't be a problem. Most of them have Peter in them, but there are plenty where he's not the focal point."

Remus had to wait until Sirius was finished with his last session of the day with the mind healer before he was able to go in to see Sirius.

Harry was sitting in the hospital wing with his charms book in his lap. He hadn't actually seen any of the words for a few hours how. He couldn't get Hermione's words out of his head. He did as she asked and put himself in that situation and thought of how he would feel and he didn't like it at all. He finally realized what it was he saw in Wormtail's eyes last night; desperation, hope, longing, love. He knew now that he had to forgive. That they all deserved to be a family like they should have been all along. The hole where his parents should have been would always be there, but Voldemort killed them, not Wormtail. Wormtail only made the best of a bad situation. He saved them all.

With this realization Harry got up and got a parchment and quill to write a letter.

Peter,

I have had some time to think and I think I understand now how you have felt and everything you have done. I had it rather forcefully shoved into my head how I would feel in your situation. I will always miss my parents, but I can now lay the blame where it belongs; with Voldemort. I'm not saying that things will be great with us right away, but I do forgive you, and I'm willing to try. Maybe we could spend some time together this summer and I can get to know you. I would love to hear more stories about me when I was a baby and about my parent's time in school.

I also want to say thank you for everything you did for us. You endured so much with so little reward. You deserve to be happy with us too. Don't worry about Sirius. I'm sure he will come around when he realizes what I have. I couldn't have done what you did. I couldn't have lived with that. Last year when we found out about you we accused you of betraying your friends, but you didn't. You were more faithful than we could have ever known.

If Sirius is okay with it by then, maybe you could stay with us this summer. I think I would like that.

Love Harry.

It took him many tries to get it right. It still didn't get across everything he wanted to say, but truthfully so much of it he couldn't put into words. It would have to be good enough. He sent it off with Hedwig before he could change his mind and was surprised when Ron and Hermione arrived signaling the end of dinner. Time really had flown today.

Hermione looked at him quizzically and he nodded and smiled to let her know that he took her words to heart and finally understood. She smiled as they sat down and began talking about their day. She had apparently threatened Ron to keep him from bringing up the situation. Harry was glad that he had such good friends.

Remus arrived home after his visit to Sirius to find Peter sitting on the couch holding a piece of parchment with tears slowly falling and a smile on his face. He sat gingerly next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, not sure what the situation is and thus how to react. Peter just responded by passing him the parchment.

Remus snorted. "Forcefully shoved in his head' Hermione probably."

"That was my thought too. I bet Ron threw a fit, but I'm sure Hermione kept him in line and didn't let him make things worse. She was always so good at that." Peter responded.

"So he wants you to stay with us. I'm glad. I'm not sure what Sirius will think about that by the time he gets out of St. Mungo's but at least until then you will do so."

Peter looked like he was about to argue, but the look on Remus' face seemed to say 'are we going to have to have this conversation again?' so Peter shut his mouth and nodded as his lips twitched. It was amazing how after all these years they could still read each other so well.

At Remus' prompting Peter wrote a reply to Harry.

Harry,

I was so glad to receive your letter. I thought it would take you longer to come to terms with this. I of course didn't take into account the force of nature that is Hermione Granger. Thank her for me will you? Remus has informed me that in light of your letter, I will be staying with the two of you at least until Sirius is released from the hospital. After that we will see how Sirius feels about me being around. Worst case, you can just come to my place to see me. I will not abandon you again, even if I can't be with you all the time.

It may be too soon, and if it is that's okay, but I would love if you would call me Uncle Wormy like you did when you were a baby. I feel safe speaking for the other guys that they would love to hear you call them Uncle Moony and Uncle Paddy like you did then as well. If you're not comfortable with it, then that's okay. Just a thought.

I'm so glad we are okay now cub, and there is nothing that would make me happier than being a family with all of you again. You are right though. There will always be a hole where James and Lily should be. We will make sure you have plenty of stories and memories of them. Always remember that they are watching over you and will always love you just as we, the remaining marauders will.

Love,

Peter

Remus walked into the hospital room to find Sirius sitting up in bed. He went over and pulled the other man into a fierce embrace. "How are you?"

"Anxious, scared, frustrated, angry, bitter, lonely…" Sirius trailed off. The truth drugs were obviously working. Remus had never known his friend to admit anything like that before.

"Did the healers tell you what we are going to be doing today?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. We are looking at memories in the penseive." He looked up at Remus with sad eyes. "What if I can't do it Moony? What if I can't be happy anymore? I don't think I want to live like that."

Remus had to blink a few times to keep the tears out of his eyes at the pain and longing in his friends voice. "You can do it Sirius. I know you can. Nothing could ever keep you down for long." He gave a small smile. "Do you remember that fight we had that blew up and I told you that I never wanted to see you again and that you could never care for anyone but yourself? You got that whipped puppy look on your face and walked away. You looked so sad all day, but the next morning you were back to your annoyingly perky self and drove me nuts until I forgave you."

Sirius looked down. "Not really. It's like the memory is there, but it's all faded and far away."

Remus frowned. This wasn't going the way it was supposed to. "Well then that's the first one we'll see." He patted Sirius' leg. "Don't worry. We will fix this. You'll be fine. I promise. And when have you ever known me to break a promise?"

Sirius managed a small smile at that. "Solid dependable Moony," was all he said.

The healer then brought in the pensive and waited for Remus to place the memory within. The mind healer was of course going to go with them. He needed to be able to see what was going on so that he could talk to his patient about it.

_They fell into the pensive in the middle of the Gryffindor common room to see a screaming match between a young Remus and a young Sirius. "How could you Sirius Black!? I can't believe you would ever do something so stupid and irresponsible. Do you even care about anyone but yourself? Don't ever speak to me again!" Remus yelled as he stormed off. _

_Sirius got a look on his face like the world was ending and slunk despondently up to the dorms._

The mind healer looked at Remus with confusion. This was supposed to be a happy memory. "What did I do to deserve that again?" Sirius asked.

Remus gave a little chuckle. "I kind of over-reacted. You copied one of my arithmancy essays word for word and turned it in and Professor Vector gave us both a failing grade for it. You know how important my grades were to me and since that was the first essay for that class it didn't make a very good impression on our new teacher."

"Oh yeah. I think I remember that now. Ol' Vector was right peeved at us too." They turned their attention back to the memory as they saw Sirius sitting miserably at the table for dinner.

_Remus refused to speak to his ex-best friend, even going so far as to ask James to pass something to him from where Sirius was sitting. He never even looked at Sirius for the whole meal. Sirius ate quickly and left back to the dorms. _

_The memory continued the next morning with Sirius bounding into the great hall for breakfast and plopping down next to Remus like nothing ever happened. "Morning Moony!" He chirped happily. _

"_I'm still not speaking to you Black."_

"_But you just did! Ha! I win!" Sirius cried and began a victory dance. _

_You could see the corners of Remus' mouth begin to twitch before he turned away and resumed reading his book. In an effort to get Moony's attention again Sirius ran around to be in his line of sight. It looked very comical as Remus kept turning away and Sirius kept moving in front of him dancing all the while. After a few minutes of this, Sirius due to the rapid movement tripped and fell onto the table upturning many of the food dishes upon himself. Remus looked up at Sirius, who at that moment happened to be covered in a combination of eggs, syrup, and oatmeal and raised an eyebrow before picking up his book and leaving the room. _

_Later that morning in the common room, Remus was sitting with his book on one of the couches when something suddenly came into view. At the top of his book sat Sirius' nose and the eyes attached to that nose just sat there blinking at him. Remus decided to completely ignore him and looked back down at the words on the page. It was easier said than done, but he was partially managing to ignore the boy on his book. That is, until he turned the page and Sirius jumped back. "You gave me a papercut on my nose! My beautiful perfect nose."_

"_Oh you'll be fine." Remus said annoyed. _

"_But my nose! What if it leaves a scar! I'll be deformed forever! Please Moony, have mercy. Please heal my nose before that horrible fate can come to pass." Sirius said in the most dramatic manner he could manage. When Remus still ignored him, Sirius began lamenting to himself. "When I walk down the street with the huge scar on my nose, I can see it now. They will look at me and point. 'look at that hideous nose. What could have happened?' someone will turn to them and say, 'no one would heal the cut on his nose so it festered and now he will look like that for life.' 'oh the poor man' they'll say. 'he'll never…" Sirius was cut off as a spell hit him in the face and he looked at Moony startled. _

"_There. It's healed you big baby!" Remus said with amusement in his eyes though his face didn't betray it. _

_Sirius threw himself at his friend and gave him a big hug. "I knew you still loved me Moony. You wouldn't let me go around with a deformed nose. I'm so glad we are friends again!" _

_Remus just sighed and gave into the laugh. "I'm in big trouble with you. I just can't stay mad at you. Now get off me you big goof." _

They exited the pensive and Remus turned to Sirius. "See Paddy. Nothing can keep you down for long. You will bounce back from this. You have an endless joy about you that not even dementors can destroy."

Sirius looked a little more heartened at that. He could only hope Remus was right, but then Remus always did know him better than he knew himself.

Next time: I would love some ideas for more memories of the marauders and baby Harry. I am trying to think of some better ones but I won't be able to put out the next chapter until I get enough so please review and help me out.


	5. Chapter 5

The Face of Betrayal

Chapter 5: Memory Lane

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

The next day in St. Mungo's Remus showed up for Sirius' "therapy" session. He had thought of the perfect memory the night before. One of their best pranks.

"Sirius. How are you?" Remus asked as he walked in. That would get to be a routine in the coming weeks.

"Bored, lonely, frustrated" Sirius looked away. Remus felt the ghost of a smile. That was a shorter list than yesterday though heaven help them all with a bored Sirius Black as he remembered more about himself.

"Well I've got a really good one for us today Paddy. If this doesn't make you laugh I'll eat my socks."

Sirius smiled at Remus with a glitter of the old Sirius beginning to show in his eyes. "And why, dear Moony, would you ever eat your socks?"

"Because I'm determined to make you laugh and if the memory doesn't do it, then hopefully seeing me try to eat my socks will get a chuckle." Remus said, quite used to ridiculous questions from Sirius.

Sirius snorted in amusement at that explanation just as the mind healer walked in interrupting their friendly banter. The healer set the pensieve on the table and turned to the men to ask if they were ready. Remus smirked and pulled a memory from his head and deposited it into the penseive.

The three men fell into the Gryffindor boys dormitory to see the four boys with their heads buried in their books. "This was one of the rare moments we could get Sirius to sit still long enough to study. Though it won't last long as you can see." Remus explained.

_Sirius kept fidgeting in his chair for a few moments before he snapped his head up. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. "Kangaroos!" He yelled to the room. The other three looked up at him waiting for further explanation. Only their familiarity with the peculiarities of the raven-haired boy kept them from thinking him utterly barmy. After a few moments to make sure he had their undivided attention he elaborated. "We set Kangaroos loose in the halls and the great hall."_

"_Sirius, mate, where on earth do you expect to find kangaroos in Scotland, in the wintertime?" Remus asked sighing. _

"_We transfigure them of course dear Moony." Sirius explained in a long suffering voice as if asking some diety why he has to put up with such morons. If only he knew that they were thinking the same of him. _

_Remus realized that there was really no way to talk his exuberant friend out of this madness so turned his mind to what he was really good at. Making sure no one was permanently harmed. "We have to charm them to stay on the main floor only. They could easily kick someone down the stairs or over a banister."_

_Peter spoke up next. "We need to find a way to keep the teachers from just banishing them as soon as they see them." He turned to Moony, "Is there a way to imbed a strong shield charm in them?"_

_Moony pulled out his parchment and started making lists of what spells they needed to do everything they were planning and sketching out the plan as it was formed. A few minutes later James looked up. "I just thought of the best part!" When they all looked to him he explained, "We charm numbers on them, like we numbered them to keep track of them, but we have 8 of them but number them to 10 skipping two of the numbers so the teachers think there are still two running around and turn the school apart looking for them" All four of them began laughing at the thought and began throwing more ideas around. _

The memory skipped ahead to the execution of the prank.

_The four boys were hiding under James invisibility cloak in the doorway of the main hall. "Ok Wormy, do your thing." Sirius said clapping Wormtail on the back. Wormtail then raised his wand and suddenly duplicates of all four of them were walking into the hall and sitting on the end of the table. The seemed to be deep in conversation between them knowing that all of the students knew that when they were in planning mode like that it was best to steer clear. Like they would actually do any serious planning in the middle of the great hall anyway. They stepped back out of the doorway and split up. "Remember guys to time your first one for two minutes and run to your second location and time the second one for one minute and come back here. I will set these two to unfreeze 30 seconds after you guys get here." Sirius reminded them, as if they hadn't gone over the plan multiple times already. Nonetheless, the other three nodded and scattered to different corners of the castle. Approximately one and a half minutes later they were all walking into the great hall under the invisibility cloak and unobtrusively took the place of their duplicates just in time for the fireworks to start. They all placed looks of shock and awe on their faces for the benefit of any teachers who happened to be looking their way as kangaroos numbered 4 and 10 entered the great hall and they were hopping mad, so to speak. _

_Within 10 minutes, the food on all four tables was covering the floors, the walls, the students and anything else within the room. The teachers were covered in all manner of foodstuffs as well while attempting to coral the strangely spell-resistant kangaroos. Many students had been knocked over tables and benches and would have quite the manner of bruises to show for it, most notably double footprints on their chests from the angry animals. _

_While this was happening in the great hall, the nearly deserted corridors and classrooms were undergoing their own redecorations, though in these cases the kangaroos weren't surrounded by so many people and noises, nor were any strange people casting spells at them, so were much calmer. In fact in all but two cases, they had gone mostly unnoticed. Two of them were noticed by groups of students that had been late coming to dinner and these two groups bounded into the pandemonium of the great hall intent on informing their teachers of the strange happenings. Both groups stopped in shock at the doorway and at one look at the chaos decided two things: one, that their teachers were much too busy to be bothered with any more kangaroos, and two, that they weren't getting any dinner in here tonight anyway, so turned around and headed back to their common rooms, which were thankfully kangaroo free. Despite the mayhem, the marauders noticed the groups meet at the doors and could easily surmise all this from the looks on their faces and were beginning to lose their battle not to laugh. Thankfully, no one was paying any attention to them anyway. Not yet at least. _

_It took about 30 minutes for order to be restored in the great hall, while most of the teachers set of to fine the other 8 kangaroos that they thought there were, though in reality there were only 6. The noticeable exception to that was Professor McGonagal who was currently rounding on the four boys in the corner of the room who were all doing their best to adopt innocent and shocked expressions back on their faces after laughing so hard. The old professor wasn't fooled however. She looked scathingly at the boys and said "50 points each from Gryffindor and detention for two weeks." Her stern expression however was somewhat dimmed by the mashed potatoes in her hair, the spaghetti hanging off her shoulder and various icings from the puddings spread all over her body. All four boys knew better than to argue and marched back to their dorms waiting to dissolve into laughter again until they reached their room._

Remus, Sirius, and the mind healer were expelled from the pensieve laughing just as hard as the boys inside were. Sirius was the first to be able to speak mostly coherently. "It took them days to stop searching for 3 and 7!" he managed around his giggles which just made the mind healer laugh that much harder.

After quite a while, the three men got control of themselves and a decidedly more chipper Sirius returned to his bed for his next battery of potions, which of course involved a sleeping potion so that he could get a midday nap in before his session with the mind healer that afternoon. Once Sirius was sleeping peacefully the mind healer walked Remus out.

"That was good for him today," the healer told Remus.

"I'm glad. It was great to hear him laugh again. He almost seemed like his old self again."

"Yes he did and that's very promising. It will still take time. It's easy to be happy while immersed in the memories. We just have to teach him to hold onto it during the rest of the time as well. I think having memories like that might just make our job easier though," he paused for a moment and grinned, "and more enjoyable certainly."

Remus just laughed at that and shook hands with the healer as he took his leave. One friend down. Another to check on. Remus arrived back at his cottage to find his old headmaster there with Peter. As Remus stepped out of the floo Dumbledore turned to him, "Ah Remus. Just the man I was looking for. We have decided that since young Harry is not taking his exams this year anyway, and since letting him out into the school so soon after what's happened is not advisable, he should be allowed to return home early. If you wish, you may pick him up at the school in the morning."

Remus and Peter were all smiles and of course quickly agreed. That would be a nice surprise for Sirius during his session tomorrow too.

When Harry woke the next morning it was to Remus sitting by his bed. "Moony! What are you doing here?"

"I've come to take you home cub that is if you want to go?" Remus asked questioningly.

"Of course I do. I've never had a home to go to before." Harry said excited.

Remus tamped down the myriad of emotions that came with that easy admission. He knew how private Harry was and didn't want to draw his attention to what he just said. He settled for an easy smile. "Well I'll just leave you to get ready. I've already retrieved your remaining belongings from Gryffindor tower. We will be flooing from the headmaster's office to St. Mungos for Sirius therapy session. I daresay having you there will help him more than anything else."

Harry beamed at his old professor and grabbed up his clothes. Remembering what Peter said in his letter he took a chance and as he bounded off to the bathroom he called over his shoulder, "Thanks Uncle Moony" leaving a dumbfounded and decidedly giddy werewolf in his wake, not that Harry would know that.

Being called Uncle Moony again by a much older Harry Potter was enough to melt all the barriers he had put in place between himself and everyone else. He had been so alone for so long, he sometimes found it difficult to be around people again, but that one expression from his cub was enough to bring him back to the way things used to be. It reminded how it felt to be accepted, to be loved, to be part of a family. He now had hope that no matter how rocky the way may be, they would make this unconventional family work, one way or another.

By the time Harry came out of the bathroom having showered and dressed for the day, Remus had unfroze from his spot and threw an easy arm around Harry's shoulders as they headed for the headmaster's office.

When Sirius looked up as the door to his room opened, he bounded out of bed and swept his godson up in a hug. "Harry! I'm so glad to see you! How did you escape from school so early?"

Harry laughed. "Professor Dumbledore let me go early."

"I'll have to remember to thank the old coot next time I see him."

Harry, having seen the effect that it had on Remus, decided to try it with Sirius too, especially since he needed it even more. "How are you Uncle Paddy?" Harry bit his lip with nerves wondering how Sirius would take his new appellation. With Remus he hadn't stuck around for the reaction.

Sirius had stepped away a bit, but upon hearing what Harry called him, swept the boy up into another hug barely holding back the tears. "Much better now cub. Much better." Harry relaxed with relief at the reaction, especially since Remus had already told him that Sirius was on a mild truth serum.

The healer had entered just after them, but stayed in the doorway so as not to interrupt the reunion. He now cleared his throat to get their attention. Sirius unobtrusively wiped his eyes as he turned around, missing the smile and nod the healer sent Harry in approval of his gesture. "I see we have a special guest today. I'm sure this will be a real treat for you as well Mr. Potter," he said as he set the pensieve on the table.

Remus smiled, and in honor of Harry chose the next memory.

_The fell out of the pensieve to a scene beside the lake at Hogwarts. James and Lily were sitting on a bench and the other three marauders were hiding behind a bush quietly snickering. They were close enough to be able to make out what the two on the bench were saying. _

"_I'm glad you agreed to come out here with me Lily. I hope you see that I've changed over the last year. I'm not the same prat I was before. You don't still hate me do you?" James asked her._

"_I don't know if I ever really hated you James. You acted like such a child, but then you were a child so I suppose I can't really hold it against you that girls are more mature than boys. You were just so annoying. I'm glad you grew up though."_

_James nervously shifted closer to Lily. "Does that mean you will go to hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" He asked hopefully. _

_She smirked at him. "It depends."_

_He looked hopefully up at her. "On what?"_

"_On this," she said as she kissed him._

_The three in the bush took that as their cue and set of the fireworks they had brought with them startling the two out of their first kiss. They couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing. At least they were until the new couple went after them with wands drawn. They chased the trio all the way back to the castle casting stinging hexes all the way._

The memory skipped to the next morning as they were getting ready to go to hogsmeade.

_James woke Remus first with magical webbing that stuck him to his bed with his wand out of reach. Remus realized as he woke up that James had cast silencing spells over the other two so they wouldn't wake up until he was ready. "Sorry Moony, but you're not going to Hogsmeade today. I won't let you cretins ruin my first date with Lily. Since I'm sure you weren't the instigator you get to be comfortably in your bed, but none of you will be leaving this room until I get back." _

_Peter was next with the same treatment. James had a surprise for Sirius though. Sirius was woken up with Levicorpus dangling by his ankle in the air, before he found himself stuck upside down to the wall with the same magical webbing that was holding the other two to their beds. Sirius was spluttering incomprehensively, partially because he wasn't yet awake enough to comprehend himself what was going on. James put his wand in his back pocket as he walked from the room whistling to himself._

_Peter meanwhile was laughing as Sirius started cursing. He couldn't help it. He knew exactly why James had done it and it was pretty funny. At least it was funny until he realized that none of them had a chance to vacate their bladders upon waking. Later on they also realized that they weren't going to get to eat anything until James got back later. As they were discussing it and alternating between cursing James for doing this and laughing about everything they were planning to get him back, Peter was the first to lose control of his overfull bladder and thus the first to realize that James at least wasn't completely heartless. He had cast spells to keep them from soiling themselves at least. After informing the other two they gratefully let themselves go as well. They were still hungry, but they could survive until they were let loose at least. While they still of course plotted revenge, the castration and public nudity plans were cast aside at that realization. _

The men were expelled from the pensieve laughing as was becoming habit in this room. Harry between his giggles said, "Well you did deserve it. I don't know whether to sympathize with them that you spied on their first kiss or glad you did so that I could see it."

After recovering and picking themselves off the floor Sirius returned to his bed for his next battery of potions and Harry and Remus took their leave. They were going to the cottage to pick up Peter and their luggage and then to Potter Manor to pull it out of mothballs.

I hope you guys enjoyed the memories. I have a few other ideas to throw in the next few chapters as well. Not too much of Peter in this chapter but he will be back up front in the next one.


	6. Chapter 6

The Face of Betrayal

Chapter 6: Coming Home

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Remus and Harry arrived at the cottage to see Peter sitting nervously on the couch. He wasn't sure of the reception he would get from Harry. Even though Harry tentatively forgave him it had yet to be put to the test. Peter stood as they exited the floo.

Harry looked at Peter a bit uncomfortably, not sure what to do. He wasn't ready to call him uncle yet. He was not as comfortable with him as he was with Remus and Sirius. Peter seemed to realize how uncomfortable the situation was and stepped forward and engulfed Harry in a tentative hug, whispering to him, "You don't have to do anything you aren't ready for cub." Harry relaxed a bit and wrapped his arms around Peter as well glad that he didn't have to feel guilty. Peter pulled away and pretending the tears were not in his eyes clapped Harry on the shoulder and said, "Well we should be going. I'm sure you're anxious to see your home."

"We have a portkey here that will take us to the end of the lane. For obvious reasons the floo has been shut down and there are anti-apparition and portkey wards around it as with all old manors. Once we are all keyed into the wards again we will be able to go directly there." Remus held out an old soda can for all of them to touch after shrinking all their luggage and putting it in his pockets. After saying the activation word they were whisked away by the portkey.

They landed outside a set of heavy iron gates. "Make sure that you hold onto both of us as we go through Harry. It will let you through since you have Potter blood and as long as you are holding onto us we can get through as well." Remus instructed. Harry, obviously excited grabbed hold of both men and all but dragged them through the gates and up to the front door of the large manor house.

He stopped in front of the door biting his lip nervously. Peter put his hands on Harry's shoulders. "It's ok cub. This is your home. We are right here with you. If I'm not mistaken I believe that we have been expected." Harry looked at him confused. "Go on" Peter urged.

Harry pushed the doors open slowly and was barely able to take in the grand entrance hall before he found himself being greeted by five house elves. "Master Harry! You have returned! Oh Mispy is so excited!" The one in front was nearly bouncing in happiness and the others were all nodding their heads enthusiastically, reminding Harry of Dobby and he couldn't help but laugh. "Oh and you brought Master Remus and Master Petey with you too. We are so happy to see you all again."

At this Harry seemed to have recovered from his fit of the giggles. "Um…Hi?" He wasn't quite sure what to say or do here but thankfully Remus rescued him. "Mipsy, why don't you and the others take our luggage up to some rooms. Master Harry will get the master suite and you can put us anywhere in the same hall. And if you could prepare a room for Master Sirius as he will be here in a few weeks as well."

Mipsy nodded and snapped her fingers and all of the luggage was sitting in the hall back to normal size and was subsequently grabbed up by house elves and popped away. Remus then turned to Harry. "What do you say we give you a tour of the house?" Harry nodded, still a bit overwhelmed by all this. The ground floor that they were on held the entrance hall, parlor, kitchen, formal dining room, and family dining room. Then they moved on to the first floor which held the library (Harry though Hermione would drool at seeing it. It's even bigger than the Hogwarts library), two dueling rooms, and a music room. The second floor held all the rooms. There was the master suite where Harry would be staying with a large bedroom, a bathroom as good as the prefects bathrooms at Hogwarts, and a small sitting room that connected with the heir suite which also had the same things except the bedroom was slightly smaller. That room would obviously remain empty. There were also four other suites on this floor with bedrooms and bathrooms and a common sitting room between the four. The top floor had the guest rooms with a bathroom shared between two rooms and no sitting rooms. There were four of these rooms. The other half of the floor was the elves quarters. The attic was for storage. They returned to the ground floor and traversed the basement, which was potions labs and ingredient storage. Harry turned up his nose at that. "I don't think I'll be spending much time in the basement." They all laughed knowing that Harry's lack of potion skills was legendary.

By the time the tour was done, it was time for dinner which the elves had outdone themselves on. It was the first time the manor had been occupied in many years and they were ecstatic to have people to cook for again. It even rivaled the feasts at Hogwarts. After dinner Harry was shooed up to the library to work on his summer homework. "We want to have it done by the time Sirius comes home now don't we?" Remus had asked. As Harry couldn't exactly argue with that, he found himself stuck in the library and the two men were left alone.

As they went to the parlor with some tea and biscuits, the men felt that they could finally relax. "I never thought I would be in this house again. It's a blessing and a curse." Peter said softly.

"I know what you mean Wormy. So many memories here. It just drives home what we've lost. I keep half expecting Mrs. Potter to come down those stairs with milk and cookies or Mr. Potter to walk in the door after work."

"Or James and Sirius to slide down the banister being chased by Mrs. Potter for something or other." They laughed.

"They wouldn't want this house to become a memorial to their memories. They would want it ringing with laughter again" Remus said knowingly.

Peter smirked and waved his wand incanting a silent spell of some sort. When Remus looked questioningly at him all he said was "You'll see." At that moment they heard laughter echoing through the manor and Harry walked in. "Is there a reason all the doorways are laughing at me when I walk through them? He asked very confused.

Remus and Peter almost fell out of their seats laughing and explained why they were charmed to do that. Harry got a goofy grin on his face. "I like it. I'm glad that they were such great people. I always want to hear more about my family. Just take it off the bathrooms please? I'm already self-conscious enough."

That just made the men laugh even harder but Peter nodded through his laughter and promised to do so. And he did. Just as soon as he was able to do so without laughing too hard.

Remus woke Harry up with a blast of cold water. Harry jumped out of bed sputtering, "What was that for!"

"Up and at 'em Harry. Get ready and come down for breakfast before we get to St. Mungo's." Harry walked towards the bathroom grumbling about annoying perky werewolves with Remus' laughter echoing behind him. Remus cast a drying charm on Harry's bed before heading downstairs to wait for the disgruntled teen.

He was pulled out of thoughts when he noticed his hands had taken on a sickly orange color. He looked down to see that he was wearing a dress and conjured a full length mirror to see that he now had long green ringlets. "Harry!" He bellowed just as he heard the snickering behind him to see Harry and Peter holding themselves up laughing. Peter had his wand out and Remus realized that Harry had drafted help for his revenge since he was underage and couldn't use his wand out of school. Of course he was sure that Peter had informed him by now that it couldn't be detected under the wards here. He glared at the laughing men. "Take it off," he ordered sternly.

"But Uncle Moony. You look so pretty," Harry said making doe eyes at him.

"Take it off you little terror," Remus said trying to stay firm and muttering curses under his breath.

"Now now dear. That sort of language isn't very ladylike" Peter said trying to lead Remus into a chair. Remus couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing. He did deserve it, kind of.

"At least take it off before we leave?" he pleaded.

"I'll take it off before we leave St. Mungo's." Harry promised. Remus looked about to protest but Harry cut him off. "We wouldn't want to deprive Uncle Paddy of seeing it. He might feel left out." Harry said with a smirk.

Remus visibly deflated and pouted all through breakfast knowing that he lost this round. But that's ok, because this is just the beginning of the war.

They arrived at St. Mungo's and Remus practically ran through the hall to Sirius' room with Harry struggling to keep up. Sirius looked up from his bed as the door slammed and immediately burst out laughing. "How…Who…Why" He was unable to get anymore out through his laughter.

Harry started chuckling as well. "He woke me up with ice water. I got some help from Peter for a little payback and we just had to leave it on for you to see."

"Ok cub. He saw. Can we please take it off now?" Remus pleaded.

"But Moony, you look so pretty!" Sirius said batting his eyelashes at his old friend. This of course just set Harry off again and Moony couldn't help his own chuckle.

"Oh Gods, there's two of them!" Remus said in mock horror.

"That's…exactly…what I…said" Harry gasped through his laughter.

"Haarrrryy," Remus whined pathetically.

Harry sighed and whispered something in Sirius' ear which happened to be the password to unlock the spell. Sirius then took his wand and waved it at Remus vanishing the getup, but leaving him in his robe and slippers that he was wearing before the prank. Harry and Sirius started giggling again as Remus gave an exasperated sigh. "It's better than it was I suppose."

At that moment the mind healer stepped in the room again with the pensieve. Remus had a great memory to share that day.

_They were all sitting down to dinner when they saw Lily Evans come in with her best friend Alice. She had a huge smile on her face. Peter looked to the others and said "Wonder what's up with Evans. She looks happier than a niffler in Dumbledore's office."_

_Sirius' head snapped up so fast it was surprising he didn't break anything. "Happier than a what?" He asked excitedly._

"_Than a…" Peter trailed off catching Sirius' train of thought and all four boys broke out in huge grins. They all finished eating as quickly as possible and rushed out of the great hall. They never planned and plotted in the great hall. Too many ears to listen in. _

_They arrived breathless in their dorm room. As soon as the door closed, Peter turned to the others. "How do we get it in there? We can't just use the door." _

"_It wouldn't be that difficult to guess the password," Remus said._

"_Well yes, but not counting the fact the Dumbledore's office probably has more surveillance charms than we could shake a stick at, it lacks a certain flare to just walk in the door." Peter added. _

"_Well well Wormy. Worried about flare now are you? I knew I would rub off on you eventually." Sirius said laughing. _

"_How about we just owl him one?" James interrupted. The others looked at him to expand. "Well we send him an anonymous letter but send a package with the owl too. We will conjure a box for the niffler and disillusion it. The box will of course only last for about 6 hours so if we send it after dinner he will be in bed by the time the niffler is free and it will have all night to wreak havoc." _

"_That's perfect! But we won't be able to see any of it." Said Peter despondently._

_Remus looked thoughtful for a moment. "We can if we charm the niffler to record what goes on in the room and transmit it to a hub like a pensieve. We would just need to get a pensieve."_

"_I can get Mum and Dad to send me our pensieve. I'll think of a reason I need it. Are you sure we can do that charm?" James asked._

"_I read about it in the library. It is usually used by people who want to see what their pets are up to when they are away. It doesn't seem difficult." Remus shrugged. _

The memory ended there. The healer had said that it's better for Sirius to start remembering the rest of it himself. They, as usual, fell out of the pensieve in hysterics.

"The look on Dumbledore's face when he came in!" Sirius exclaimed.

"And then when he announced that someone must have lost a niffler and could we please come and collect it as soon as possible"

"Of course we didn't though. We would have been admitting our part in the prank." Sirius said more for Harry and the healer's benefit.

"So the next day Dumbledore brought us the niffler and set it in James' lap and said 'I suggest you keep a better track of your pets' and winked at us." Remus said still snickering.

"Good thing Dumbledore has a sense of humor," Harry put in.

After Sirius was back in bed and Harry and Remus were beginning to leave Sirius called out to them to wait. They turned to look at him. "Bring Pete tomorrow" was all he said. Harry and Remus both nodded afraid to say anything in response.


End file.
